


I don't know but I think I may be falling for You

by LemonYellowFlowers



Category: The Prom (2020), The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 13:49:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29437077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LemonYellowFlowers/pseuds/LemonYellowFlowers
Summary: Oh, uh, Long Distance Valentine's Day.
Relationships: Alyssa Greene/Emma Nolan
Comments: 10
Kudos: 33





	I don't know but I think I may be falling for You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [writerbydesign](https://archiveofourown.org/users/writerbydesign/gifts).



“Darling, are you going to tell me what’s happening tomorrow? Or not.” And Alyssa can practically feel the smirk through the phone. There’s silence, and Alyssa resists the urge to roll her eyes.

“Okay. Keep your secrets.” There’s a teasing tone to Alyssa’s words but Emma still pouts.

“Don’t be like that.” 

“I wouldn’t have to be if my girlfriend would be slightly more honest about what was happening.”

“Trust me.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Rude!”

“Accurate.” And the teasing comes so easily to Alyssa, she knows that Emma is spluttering, can hear it in the slightly strangled breath noises. 

There’s quiet again for a moment, but it isn’t uncomfortable. Alyssa can hear Emma’s breathing on the other side of the call.

“I wish you were here.” It’s quiet. It’s the words neither of them have actually said out loud. Alyssa feels her chest tighten at the words because she wants nothing more than to wrap Emma up and hug her, tightly. It’s the unspoken agreement, because they know they can’t do this. Alyssa is in Edgewater Indiana and Emma is New York. There’s space. So much space.

“I know baby.” 

“I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to be sorry.”

“I may not be there but I promise you we are celebrating.” And Alyssa shakes her head again, because Emma is being infuriatingly secretive, but she trusts her girlfriend. 

“I look forward to it.”

“Does this mean I’m forgiven for keeping my secrets?”

“Maybe.” Emma laughs, bright and clear through the phone, and Alyssa can’t help but smile too.

“Have you eaten today Darling?” There’s silence again, and Alyssa knows what’s coming, shakes her head.

“Emma Nolan I swear if you haven’t eaten-”

“I have!”

“Oh really.”

“Yes.” There’s a pause again, and then,

“Emma darling, did you make instant noodles?”

The _No_ comes out sharp, indignant, and far too quickly to be truthful. 

“Oh really?”

“Yep.”

“You promise?”

“Uh, what?” And Alyssa hears Emma’s pitch go up just slightly, knows she’s about to get an answer.

“Do you promise that you’ve eaten today, and that what you ate was not instant noodles?”

Silence.

Then-

“Yep!”

Alyssa gasps.

“Emma Nolan did you just lie to me.”

Her girlfriend caves immediately.

“Look I added an extra stock cube and I put some carrots and potatoes in it too so there was some texture and vegetables-” Alyssa laughs as she hears Emma rambling, the pout clear in her tone.

She cuts her off gently.

“When I get home I’ll make us soup.”

“Home?” Emma’s quiet again, her voice shy suddenly, and Alyssa wasn’t thinking about what she was saying, the word slipped out genuinely, but she meant it.

“Yes darling. Home.” And the small gasp of wonder that Alyssa hears come through the line is incredible, it fills her with joy, leaves a soft bubble of something in her chest. This is Emma, her Emma, who is funny but quiet, shy and confident and flirty and so easily flustered. She’s joy, in human form, a smile on her face still despite everything they’ve been through together.

Alyssa’s voice catches when she tries to speak again, she clears her throat quickly.

“And have you drunk enough water?”

“I’m hanging up now.”

“Emma Nolan have you had any water today!”

“I’ve had tea, and some snapple, oh and a hot chocolate! And some cherry pepsi max, I think. That might have been yesterday-”

Alyssa pinches the bridge of her nose.

“Please drink some water darling.”

“Technically all of those drinks have water as there key ingredient.”

“Emma.”

“Alyssa.”

“I hate that my girlfriend is a Ravenclaw.”

“You take that back! You love that I’m a Ravenclaw, you love my mind.”

“Darling I’m not with you for your mind.” Alyssa smirks as she hears Emma choke around what she assumes to be the noodles from before. There’s the distinct sound of coughing. 

“You are the worst Slytherin in existence.”

“Hey - I am a hufflepuff thank you very much.”

“Nope, you’re too evil for a hufflepuff.”

“You take that back.”

“Make me.”

“I would if you were here.”

“Doesn’t sound like my problem.”

“Should I leave the call?”

“I-”

“I mean if you think I’m the worst Slytherin-”

“Lys-”

“-then clearly you wouldn’t want to be around me. So maybe I should just leave.”

There’s quiet, and Alyssa rolls her eyes because her girlfriend is stubborn.

“Alright darling, I’ll speak to you later.”

“Wait-”

“There she is.”

“Shut up.”

“I’m surprised you caved so quickly.”

“Oh my god.”

“You love me.”

“Do I?”

“Yep. I even have the handwritten Valentine’s Day note from last year to prove it. I believe it begins, ‘Alyssa, you are the light of my life-”

“Oh my god stop.”

“-I am so grateful to have met you-”

“Alyssa!”

“You’re whining darling.” Emma takes a breath.

“You’re lucky I love you.”

“Yes I am.” And Emma smiles, because Alyssa means that.

“I have to go. There’s still some stuff I have to do.”

“Okay darling. I love you.”

“I love you too baby. I can’t wait until you’re back here and I can show you just how much.”

“Why Miss Nolan, how very suggestive of you.”

“I literally meant cuddles!”

“I’m going.”

“Bye babe.”

“Bye darling.”

Alyssa hangs up first, which is just as well. Emma doesn’t think she’d be able to hang up on Alyssa even if she wanted to. Her girlfriend is addictive and she doesn’t have the best self-control _but_ she needs to finalise the arrangements for Valentine’s Day. Emma is determined to keep up the tradition of beating the previous year, and just because they’re apart shouldn’t change anything.

Unbeknownst to Alyssa, Emma has Mrs. Greene’s permission for everything planned, she’d actually roped the woman into helping slightly. Emma knew that neither Mrs. Greene nor Alyssa had really been thinking about the date when they’d arranged the trip home. It was the only time the older woman was free and Emma knew how much Alyssa missed her mom. So she didn’t blame them. But it still made Valentine’s Day planning a little complicated.

Veronica Greene had taken some time to come around, but she’d worked hard. The night after the inclusive prom, she’d asked Alyssa to sit with her, to just talk and explain and for the first time in a long time she hadn’t interrupted. There had been a lot of tears, some comments that weren’t necessarily phrased with as much tact as they should have been. But for the most part, Mrs. Greene was trying to be more open-minded, and really that’s all that Alyssa could ask for.

What neither Emma or Alyssa had been prepared for was when Mrs. Greene reached out to Alyssa to ask if she could meet one-on-one with Emma before they went to college. Alyssa had been very clear with her mother that she had to be nice, that if she upset Emma in any way, or if it was too much for Emma, that she had to let Emma leave. It was sweet to Emma, seeing the extent to which Alyssa wanted to protect her.

Then again, the worst moments of Emma’s life had been orchestrated by the woman. 

Still, Emma had said yes. They’d decided to meet in the mall, neutral territory, although the pair had gone back to the Greene residence together in the end. Mrs. Greene had been apologetic, and Emma had believed her. She said she wanted to do better, and Emma believed her. Most importantly, she’d offered herself, said that if Emma wanted another parent, or needed one, that she’d be there. Emma had been amazed.

So yeah, Emma’s life had been a lot. But by the time she got to college she had six surrogate parents, only one of whom had been related to her by blood.

And, Emma is distracted. Reminiscing about her life when she really needs to be making sure that tomorrow is going to go perfectly. She quickly grabs the duffel bag in the corner, packed with all the equipment she could need, and slings it onto her shoulder. She heads out of their shared flat - they’d considered staying in college dorms but no one there knew the meaning of the word privacy, and Emma figured they’d been walked in on enough to last a lifetime.

She thumbs through her contacts before clicking on her Gran’s name.

“Emma.”

“Hey Gran.” The older woman picks up on the first ring, and Emma can hear the smile in Grandma’s voice.

“You know it’s rude to keep an older woman waiting.”

“I know! I’m sorry I got distracted, Lys rang.”

“Oh I see how it is.” Emma rolls her eyes.

“Are you there?”

“Yes dear.”

“And?”

“It’s beautiful Em.” And Emma can hear the pride in Gran’s voice, has to swallow a little to keep herself in check.

She arrives at her pick up and throws the duffel into the cab before climbing in herself. 

“I’ll be at my end in like, 10 minutes.”

“Do you want me to go?”

“Up to you I’ve got a headset.”

“No that’s alright dear, ring me when you’re there.”

“Okay, cheers Gran.”

Emma hangs up the phone and switches the car on, pulling out and heading towards the mini campsite she’d found.

It’s New York, and there’s not a lot of green spaces, but someone had decided to buy a small piece of land, had grown literally the smallest forest in the world and now operates as a campsite. The grounds are so small that it can only hold two families at a time, and Emma’s booked a night, paid extra so she can arrive in the morning. She heads out.

It had taken her a while to come up with the plan, but it was a little thing they’d discussed once, a perfect date. Alyssa had laughed, pushed Emma playfully and tried to get out of the question, but eventually she admitted that she had thought about it.

Alyssa had described the idea of going for a walk, not necessarily a long one, maybe an hour max, but long enough that it felt like her and whoever she went with had exercised a little bit. Plus, it was a walk, they could hold hands, talk about anything and everything, try out those ridiculous positions you always see couples walking in, in the movies.

Emma and Alyssa had to immediately try them, Emma with her arm around Alyssa’s shoulder and Alyssa with her arm around Emma’s waist. Then Emma with her arm around Alyssa’s neck and Alyssa resting her head on Emma’s shoulder. They had quickly agreed that none of the positions were comfortable or practical, and had stuck with just good old fashioned holding hands instead. 

Alyssa had continued, explaining that they’d come to a space, maybe there would be a forest, or maybe a field with a few trees, but it would be like a small, private area, in some way cut off from the public by nature. They’d lay out a blanket, and lots of picnic food, and then they’d snuggle together, eat the food, laugh, chat. If they could they’d stay and watch the sunset, maybe even stay really late (if they had the right equipment) and watch the stars together.

It sounded like perfection to Alyssa, and it was the date she’d always wanted.

It was the date Emma was determined to give her.

***

Alyssa woke up the next morning, at around half eight, by her mom knocking loudly on the door.

“Are you awake Alyssa?” Alyssa groaned, looking at the clock, there was no need to be up this early on a Sunday.

“I am now.”

“Good, come on, out of bed, you need to be up and ready for the day.” Alyssa groaned again. She had no plans, she didn’t need to be up and ready for anything.

“Now Alyssa.”

“I’m coming! I’m coming.” Alyssa rolled out of bed, and as soon as she opened the door she was met with the smell of warm bread. Confused, Alyssa followed her nose through the house down to the kitchen. She gasped as soon as she stepped in.

The entire kitchen island was covered in rose petals. There was a small bouquet of yellow roses and lilies in a vase, and leaning against the vase was a note. Her mother was nowhere to be seen.  
Alyssa would recognise Emma’s handwriting anywhere, and immediately stepped forward, grabbing it and quickly opening it up.

_Hey Baby,_

_Don’t be mad at your mom, she woke you up at my request. Assuming she was able to wake you, it should probably be around twenty to nine now - I’m going to need you to be ready for ten._

_Do you like the flowers? Do you like the petals? I know it’s a bit extra but I wanted today to go perfectly._

_Nope, I’m not answering your questions, so don’t bother trying to text me and get me to tell you what’s going on. I am strong willed! It will not happen._

_Okay so we both know I’d crack in a heartbeat so don’t ask me - please? (I want you to know that I’m giving you my best pleading expression as I write this)._

_Your mom technically made the bread (thank her for me?) but I sent the ingredients. I remembered you saying you thought it was a sign of true domesticity, and I’d love to have made the bread for you but I’ll be honest - I’ve practiced a couple of times and it has not gone well. I’m definitely getting better but for this occasion I think you should be glad your mom has made it._

_Happy Valentine’s Day!_

_I hope you enjoy your breakfast, and maybe dress just on the warmer side. But however you want is fine. Promise._

_I love you, and I’m so glad you’re in my life, even if you’re not in my arms today,_

_Emma x_

Alyssa loves her girlfriend. She loves her girlfriend so much, but she feels weirdly emotional knowing that her mother has a part in this. 

She realises fairly quickly that her mom isn’t around, Alyssa doesn’t know if that’s part of the agreement or what, but she sits alone at the kitchen island, surrounded by the flowers. She pours herself a coffee and enjoys the still warm loaf, smothered in way more butter than it should have been, she’s certain. 

She takes her time with the food, deciding to savour it and then get ready as quickly as needed afterwards. When she’s finished, she checks the clock. It’s nearly quarter past nine, she has just over forty-five minutes to get ready.

She can do this.

Alyssa doesn’t bother cleaning up the kitchen, either mom will do it or she’ll do it later, she doesn’t mind either way and she’s fairly sure her mom won’t mind either. She has a quick shower, puts on just some mascara and lipstick. She settles on some tartan trousers and cream sweater, it’s thick and cozy and she always feels cute in it. 

When Alyssa heads back downstairs, she realises she has no idea what to do next. There were no instructions in Emma’s letter beyond being ready for ten, and she isn’t sure if she’s meant to go somewhere or, what. 

Alyssa feels herself stressing slightly, realises her fists are clenched, she can’t help but roll her eyes at herself. She knows Emma has put work into this, knows that if the other woman thought she needed-

There’s a knock at the door.

Without thinking Alyssa’s eyes are drawn to the clock and she realises she’s been stressing long enough that it is now ten o’clock.

The door is knocked again and Alyssa springs into action.

She moves towards the door and pulls it open, surprised when she’s met with her mother.

“Hi Alyssa.”

“Uh, hi?”

“The cars waiting for you. GPS is pre-programmed. Have a wonderful date superstar.”

“Wait, date?” Mrs. Greene quirks an eyebrow at her daughter and Alyssa knows she’s not going to hear anything more from her mom.

“You need to get going, don’t want to keep your girl waiting.” And with that Mrs. Greene pushes past Alyssa into the house. 

Alyssa is left waiting on the doorstep for a few seconds, before her brain seems to kick into gear.

“Wait, do I need to take anything?”

“The car is already loaded, but you’ve got your phone right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then you’re fine. Go on, out with you.” 

And Mrs. Greene, honest to god, shoos Alyssa out the door. Alyssa isn’t sure whether to be amused or offended. 

She makes her way to the car, and opens the back door first. She finds herself face to face with a large black blanket clearly covering something on the back seat. Pinned to the blanket is another letter, just like the note from this morning. Again, Alyssa recognises Emma’s writing, and she grabs it.

_I knew you’d open the back door first. You’re predictable babe._

_And now I know you’re rolling your eyes and shaking your head. See?_

_Anyway please don’t move it yet. When you get there, look then, but just leave it for now?_

_For me, baby?_

_Emma x_

Alyssa wants to move the blanket. She does. But she can practically see Emma’s pleading face in her mind and with a huff of frustration she closes the back door again. She climbs into the drivers seat and true to her mothers word, the GPS is loaded up with a destination. She doesn’t recognise the address but is surprised to see it’s only something like a twenty minute drive.

Alyssa sets off.

When she gets there, she triple checks the address.

She’s parked up on the side of the road, and in front of her is basically just trees. She’s frowning out at them when she feels her phone buzz in her pocket. Pulling it out she sees Emma’s caller ID.

“Em?”

“Happy Valentine’s Day.” Alyssa smiles, her confusion all but forgotten as she feels herself relax with just a few short words from the blonde woman.

“Happy Valentine’s Day to you darling.” Emma smiles.

“So you should be by some trees. And if I know you you’re probably stressing a little bit and thinking am I in the right place.” Alyssa just shakes her head, her girlfriend is insane.

Not wrong.

But insane.

“Maybe.” She admits.

“So if you get out of the car, you don’t need to walk very far at all, there should be a compass on your dashboard and you want to follow a straight line in a south east direction.” Alyssa leans forward, and sure enough, a little circular compass has been left there.

“You really thought of everything didn’t you?”

“I’ll speak to you later babe.”

“Wait-” But Emma has already gone. Alyssa sighs, but she’s determined. She grabs the compass off of the dashboard and steps out the car. It only takes her a couple of seconds to line herself up and she realises almost immediately that she’s walking in to the trees.

It only takes her about a minute, if that, she comes face to face with a crafted door, it’s made from leaves and hanging between two trees that aren’t that far apart, as she pushes through, Alyssa gasps loudly.

There’s a small alcove, a clear view of the sky above and it’s so bright. Laid out on the ground there are several blankets, practically covering the whole area. There’s blankets on top of those, and cushions, folded into a neat pile. The whole area is lined with fairy lights, wires dangling between the trees. But most importantly is the bit in the middle.

On a tiny little table, in the middle of some trees, is her girlfriend’s face clearly looking back at her on a laptop.

“Hey baby.”

The sound seems to come from everywhere, and it surprises Alyssa enough that she glances around, realising there are speakers hanging up between the bulbs. 

“Happy Valentine’s Day Alyssa.”

Alyssa can’t help it, she feels herself start to cry just a little bit. Because this is so much. She can’t even think how much preparation had to go into Emma being able to do this. Briefly she wonders how Emma is speaking to her, but she decides she probably doesn’t want to get bogged down with the technical side of it all.

“So what’s in the back seat.” Emma laughs loudly at that, and Alyssa smiles too. She knew it would make her girlfriend laugh, but her curiosity is also piqued.

“Food, babe. Lots of food. Your favourites.” Alyssa’s eyes light up and Emma just shakes her head.

“Go get it now then, I’ll still be here when you get back.”

So Alyssa does, rushes back to the car and pulls off the black blanket to reveal not one, not two, but three full hampers of food. Alyssa lugs it back to the clearing.

“Just so I know, how many other women are you meeting in this alcove?”

“Uh, none?” Emma’s nose scrunches with confusion, and Alyssa is distracted momentarily by how cute her girlfriend is.

“You can’t seriously think I’m going to eat all this.”

“Oh! Uh, well, I wasn’t sure how hungry you’d get. Plus I’m thinking you’ll be here for a while.” Alyssa’s eyes soften at that, because she can hear the nerves in Emma’s voice.

“Emma, darling, look at me.” Emma glances back at the camera, there’s a slight blush on her cheeks, but she’s still with her.

“This is amazing. This is so amazing, I’m so grateful you’ve done all this. And I’ll stay as long as you’ll have me.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.” 

There’s a moment of peace between them, and Alyssa thinks this is what love is. Love is everything with Emma. It’s the quiet moments, and the loud ones. It’s the teasing, the flirting, but also the serious conversations. It’s Emma allowing her to touch her even when the world is being so much, and it’s Alyssa trusting Emma with her fears, her worries. It’s the fireworks, and the pull low in her stomach when they kiss. How Emma makes her feel she is exactly herself and yet somehow more. It’s everything physical and spoken between them and everything that _isn’t_.

Alyssa rummages through one of the hampers which seems to be exclusively drinks, she laughs when she sees that Emma’s packed her two litres of water, but also some tea, some coffee, some hot chocolate and-

Alyssa’s eyes light up when she sees the capri suns. She grabs one of those from the box first.

She sorts through the blankets and pillows, makes herself a small nest she can sort of lie on and in, and pulls the laptop on to her chest.

Emma is there, smiling down at her, and it’s then that Alyssa realises she can see trees in Emma’s background.

“Uh, babe, where are you?” And Emma’s grin is infectious. 

“I wondered when you’d notice.” The camera is shaky, Emma is clearly moving, and then the next thing Alyssa knows, she sees that Emma is in a clearing too. Just like hers, there are lights hanging around the edges, blankets - the same ones as Alyssa has - are laid out on the ground. Emma has three hampers of food too, is sat in a pile of blankets too, and Alyssa feels tears fill her eyes.

She isn’t sure what’s happening. Emma is excitedly talking, telling her about how she managed it, Alyssa captures mentions of a campsite, of Veronica and Betsy sourcing fairy lights that would arrive at both addresses in time, and then setting them up, doing the same with the blankets. Of going to the shops and ordering food to be delivered to her house and to Alyssa’s, so that they were even sharing the same food. The whole thing was designed to make sure they felt together when apart.

Emma finally notices Alyssa. 

“Baby, what’s wrong?” And Alyssa chokes out a laugh, although it’s wet, and she’s rubbing at her eyes, thanking whatever make-up deity there is that encouraged her to go with waterproof mascara.

“Nothing. The opposite Em. This is perfect, this is-”

“Your perfect date?” And Emma is shy again, her voice a little timid, and Alyssa is breathless. When she speaks, her voice is soft, like she’s afraid to break the magic.

“Yes. Yes it is. My perfect date.”


End file.
